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Mistake 9: Poor Telephone Image

It’s astonishing how may people give more thought to what color socks they’ll wear, than to how they look to the other person.

Try an experiment. On your next 10 telephone calls pull out a piece of paper and make tally marks in two columns: “desirable” and “undesirable,” describing the total image you form based on what the other person says, and how they say it. When you analyze it, it’s befuddling that so many people fuss about their personal appearance, but ignore the way they “look” on the phone. And that can be fatal to teleprofessionals.

Action Step: The best way to improve the way you sound is to listen to yourself on tape. Every top performer in all other skill professions uses taping. Athletes, actors, singers, dancers, professional speakers . . . all review their performances on tape in order to improve. You need to do the same.

(For more information on the legalities of taping calls, and to see a device that helps you tape both sides of your phone calls, go to http://www.businessbyphone.com/taping.htm. Also, for a great self-study program on improving your phone voice, check out http:www.businessbyphone.com/vs.htm)

Mistake 8: No Post-Call Review

I cringe when I see sales reps grind out call after call, putting their fingers in “speed dial” mode, pounding the key pad immediately after disconnecting the previous call. They waste learning opportunities. That’s why there are grizzled, veteran salespeople who have placed thousands of calls in their lifetime, but have no real experience to speak of. They don’t REFLECT on what they have done. Learning doesn’t take place while you’re engaged in an activity. It takes place afterward, when you dwell on it. Just like reading a book, you retain more when you pause to reflect on, and react to, what you just experienced.

Action Steps: At the end of every call you place, simply ask yourself two questions:

1.

What did I like about this call?

2.

What would I have done differently on this call?

No time to perform this activity after your calls? Think again. You can’t afford NOT to.

Special Report: The Top 10 Mistakes Made By Salespeople When Using The Phone, And What You Can Do To Avoid These Errors